In The Name Of Science
by J.E.McCormickGal
Summary: The countries are put on a small, remote island, left to fend for themselves, in the hopes that just as they are affected by the economy, the economy can be affected by them. Of course, this is all in the name of science.  Fuller summary   pairs inside
1. Prologue: The Economy Sucks

**In The Name Of Science**

_Summary: __The countries are put on a small, remote island, left to fend for themselves, in the hopes that just as they are affected by the economy, the economy can be affected by them. Will they succeed in thriving and establishing trade, or will this whole experiment be pointless – or even make things worse? Of course, this is all in the name of science._

_Multiple pairings, including: _Spamano, GerIta, USUK, PruCan, Giripan, Rochu and AusSwitz (I have no idea what their pairing name is, shoot me )

_Jem: HAI GUYS! This is my first story in the Hetalia fandom, and also my first collab, with my good friend __**Meso the Hanyu**__, author of Apocalyptic!_

_Basically, Mouse had this wicked-cool idea, and after discussing it a bit, we ended up with this awesome (tm Prussia) story plot. MWAHAHA!  
>Be warned that the current economic situation plays a prominent part in this storyline. We're doing all the research we can, but there may be some inconsistencies. It's hard to research on the Internet and I'm getting all the info from my (slightly suspicious) parents, so...<em>

_Anyway, read on for the epicness..._

_Rated: T, for language, boy love, and such things. Also, little kidlings probably won't understand ANYTHING about the economic referances._

=X=

The meeting had an overall miserable atmosphere.

This was not quite a full world meeting; the majority was made up of nations in the European Union, with other countries including America, Canada, Japan, China and Russia. Almost everyone looked ill, with dark circles under their slightly bloodshot eyes, pained expressions on their faces, a few looking flushed with fever. Greece was dozing as usual, but he looked the worst of all; unhealthily pale, breathing ragged, and even in sleep his features did not drop from a look of distress.

"Veh, fratello?" Veneziano turned to his brother. "Why is everyone so sad?"

This sentence was ended by a small sneeze and small moan of discomfort.

"It's the stupid economy." Romano replied, coughing heavily. "The euro is collapsing, a load of people are in debt, and everyone's currencies are deflating – everyone has been affected." He coughed again and sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. "Greece is in loads of debt – so are we. We and Spain have to borrow loads, and no-one wants to lend. Even outside of Europe, the situation isn't good – America is suffering, and Japan. China is probably the best off of us all."

"Ahh, my poor Romano. You look really ill, Roma~." Spain's voice was heard before he himself was seen by the Italian.

"You don't look much better." He grumbled back.

Spain wrapped his arms around Romano, but the smallest didn't struggle, opting instead to simply lean into his former boss and let him take a majority of his weight. He breathed a heavy sigh, which may have been mistaken as relief but, he would defend, was simply exhaustion.

"Ciao, fratello Spagna." Veneziano greeted the older country quietly.

"Hola, Feli. You are both ill; it is not too bad, I hope?"

"Romano is taking the worst of it, Rome is his." Veneziano clarified, looking sadly at his brother, who seemed to now be trying to sleep in Spain's arms. Now that they were a unified country, they only had one capital; Rome. However, because even when they had been split Rome had always been Romano's capital, while Veneziano's had been Venice, the older brother was far more connected to it, making his connection to the state of the country overall stronger too. It wasn't helped by the fact that South Italy still wasn't as rich as the Northern half.

"At least it is me." Romano bit back, through it was half-hearted. "You'd never be able to handle it, idiota. It also means I get to be the one taken care of for once, huh?" he smirked a bit at Veneziano.

"Ah~, so sweet Roma."

"Get off me, pomadoro bastardo." The Italian pushed the Spaniard away from him, small smirk still in place.

"Still managing to be feisty. Ah~ Roma, mi poco di tomate~."

"Zitto, idiota. Tu mi fai sentire irritati."

"Me haces sentir el amor!"

"Sei stupido."

"Eres linda."

"Ti odio!"

"Te amo demasiado, Lovi~!"

"Bastardo! And don't call me Lovi." Romano huffed, face now red. Spain just chuckled and wrapped his arms around the Italian again, this time met with struggles and resistance. For a moment he wrestled playfully with the younger country, but the atmosphere was interrupted when Romano started coughing harshly again. Immediately serious, Spain let go of him to allow him breathing room.

"Veh~, fratello!" Veneziano cried out worriedly, moving quickly to his brother's side. Romano was bent almost double and his whole body shook with every cough, and he reached out the hand he wasn't covering his mouth with to grip his little brother for support. Eventually he made a huge gasp for breath and the coughing-fit resided, leaving Romano shaking and slightly dizzy.

"Are you okay, Roma?" Spain asked quietly.

"...The hell do you think, idiota?" Romano replied sharply, voice hoarse. He let out a short groan and shifted his weight, still holding onto Veneziano to support him upright, and now also taking hold of Spain.

"Sit down, fratello." Veneziano instructed, voice laced with concern. Romano nodded wordlessly and slowly lowered himself down with the help of both other countries. He leant against the wall with a sigh.

"Why haven't they opened the conference room doors yet?" he asked, a slight hint of irritation creeping into his tone.

"I'm not sure... Not everyone is here right now; I think we're all a bit early." Spain replied. He looked down again at the brunette. "Shall I go and get you some water?"

"...Si." Romano said eventually. "...Grazie..."

"No hay problema, mi amor." The Spaniard smiled, before he disappeared down the corridor to find Romano's drink. Veneziano watched him leave, then sat next to Romano, nestling into his side. Romano lifted an arm and allowed his younger brother closer, wrapping the arm around his shoulders.

"Will everything turn out okay, fratello?" he asked in a whisper, nuzzling his face into Romano's neck.

Romano paused a moment before replying. "I'm sure it will, Feli. I'm sure it will."

Veneziano gave a small cough of his own, reminding them both that he being affected as well.

"Don't worry, fratellino. We'll be fine." Romano assured him.

Veneziano nodded and pressed himself closer to his brother again. Romano rested his cheek on Veneziano's head, and closed his eyes.

**~~::.::~~**

When Spain came back with a plastic cup of water, he found the brothers asleep, still curled up against the wall together. He sat down opposite them, and Veneziano opened his eyes slightly.

"Hola, Feli."

"Ciao." Veneziano replied quietly. "Fratello fell asleep."

"Probably the best thing for him at the moment." Spain nodded, smiling kindly.

"If this gets bad..." Veneziano looked down. "I mean, if we get in really bad trouble; what'll happen?"

Spain sighed and searched the air, as if it would show him an answer.

"You see Greece?" he asked. Veneziano looked slightly further down the hallway they were sat in to where Greece was also sleeping against a wall. "He's in worse debt than you; and he's had riots and protests too. It's all getting really bad for him. Eventually he'll have to pull out of the euro zone and get his own currency back, and even then things might not get better for a while. Riots aren't fun."

Veneziano thought this over.

"I feel bad that Romano is taking the most of this. We're united now, it's not fair."

"I personally think he's doing it for you." Spain said gently. "He doesn't want anything to happen to you."

"_I_ don't want anything to happen to _him_!"

"Ah~, but he is the eldest, so he gets the rites of protection." The Spaniard laughed. "Don't worry too much Feli. Romano's tough. And as long as he has you to help him a little bit, he'll be fine."

Veneziano smiled.

"Not to mention I'm not going anywhere, so he gets a bit of love from me too!" Spain announced with a sunny smile.

Veneziano laughed and relaxed back against his brother. Spain's face softened again.

"Sleep for a bit Feli. You need it too. Don't worry, I'll look after both of you." He manoeuvred his way between and behind the two, so that as well as the brothers leaning on each other, they also rested on his chest. He wrapped both arms around them. Veneziano smiled contentedly and laid his head down, eventually falling asleep again.

**~~::.::~~**

"No! I've told you, that won't work!" one man with frizzy blonde hair and a lab coat snapped.

"I'm telling you, it would solve everything!" the blonde's co-worker, a black haired man of Venezuelan descent argued.

"You're both stupid! How would you even create personifications for the countries regions anyway! We don't even know if they can reproduce." A third scientist, a red head, snapped irritably. "Sparky, Fidelio, just get back to work."

"Yes, Dr. Richards." The two recited and turned back to their writing pads, shooting ideas back and forth.

Doctor Patrick Richards sighed and walked away. Younger scientists helping the program his ass. Sure, young Sparky Taylor and Fidelio Covas were brilliant, but they were young. Their ideas were new but they wouldn't help the problem.

Dr. Richards entered his office and looked up at his young daughter, who was sitting happily at his desk with… a tank in front of her?

"Mary, what are you doing? And where's your older brother? I don't like the two of you being in the facility alone." Patrick asked half-heartedly, running his hands backwards through his hair.

Mary smiled brightly, twirling one of her blond pigtails around her finger. "Me and Johnny are doin' a 'speriment. Johnny went to the woods right outside and is making an, uhm, an enclosure. My hamster doesn't feel good and I wanna see if him livin' by himself might help." She responded cheerfully, young voice mangling her words.

"Mary, that's… That's brilliant!" A smile broke across the doctor's face as he picked up his squealing daughter and twirled her around. "Go get Jonathon, and your sister Sophia! You and them come meet me in Mr. Taylor's lab, okay?"

Mary smiled and bobbed her head. As soon as her father had put her down, the little girl went running off, her hamster forgotten on Patrick's desk.

When Dr. Richards re-entered the lab, a huge grin on his face and his three children following, Sparky couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, doc?" the blond asked, an amused smile tugging at his mouth.

Dr. Richards straightened up and took on a more professional expression. "Gentleman, I have an idea."

"Yes, doctor?" Fidelio asked, Sparky's contagious smile tugging his own lips.

"Sophia." Dr. Richards motioned to his oldest daughter.

The girl, whose hair was a few shades lighter than her fathers, took an obligatory step forward. "Jonathon thought of the concept, father and I tweaked it. The nations are collapsing because of poor economy. Economy, essentially, exists because of the selling and buying of goods. What if we put them somewhere where they might only buy and sell amongst one another? Leave the well nations, like most of Africa, to their devices and allow the sick ones to live like tribal people. Perhaps if they can get a steady trade going, their people will be affected." The high school student went on in a monologue.

Sparky and Fidelio both blinked before wide smiles broke across their faces.

"This is an island, and it's all forest except for the facility…" Sparky began.

"There are edible foods and fresh water streams…" Fidelio continued.

"Sir! You and your children are genius!" Sparky cried after a moment, a delighted smile on his face.

"I'll start on the details immediately." Fidelio said, in an obviously much brighter mood.

=X=

_A/N: END OF AWESOME EPICNESS!_

_**Translations:**_

Zitto, idiota. Tu mi fai sentire irritati. (Italian) = Shut up, idiot. You make me feel irritated.

Me haces sentir el amor! (Spanish) = You make me feel love!

Sei stupido. (Italian) = You're stupid.

Eres linda. (Spanish) = You're cute.

Ti odio! (Italian) = I hate you!

Te amo demasiado, Lovi~! (Spanish) = I love you too, Lovi~!

~:.:~

_Jem: Well, I personally think that turned out pretty well. We worked together, but for the most part Mouse came up with the scientist's theory (it was scary because I'd actually just thought the same thing...)_

_Well, please review, y'know, we love feedback, any mistakes in information or language translation, please let us know! Constructive criticism is good! Please no hating though -.- Okay then, ciao from me~_

_**Mouse: It was a pleasure working on this and I hope you lovely readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it/collaborating on it with Jem. And for those who don't know, Jem and I are brain twins that just so happen to live on totally different continents. But review, my lovelies. Inspire our creativity.**_


	2. Chapter 1: The Countries Protest

**In The Name Of Science**

**Chapter One: The Countries Protest**

_A/N: Whoot chapter 1!_

_Jem: Yep, countries are not cooperative :/  
>Hopefully you all enjoy it! As always, thanks to our reviewers are in the bottom AN! That's about all I have to say here__._

_Warnings: Romano enjoys swearing. In Italian, admittedly, but warning for language. __Also warning for Korea being Korea._

=X=

When the group of humans came marching down the hall, it was a surprise to the nations. They all turned their heads to look at these people (except for those sleeping and America, who was retching into a trash can).

One of the scientists, who the nations would come to know as Sparky Taylor, opened up the conference room doors and made a signalling motion. "Come on, come on. Lot to cover not a lot of time." The blond said brusquely.

An eye roll on Fidelio's part. "So brusque." The dark haired scientist muttered as he and Dr. Richards entered the room, Johnny and Sofia at their heels.

Mary, however, was intrigued by the people sleeping on the floor. The young girl tilted her head in confusion. Finally, the little blond reached out a free hand (for one was holding her teddy bear hamster, Crackers) and poked the nation of Spain. "Are you dead?"

Spain opened one of his emerald green eyes and looked up from where he had been dozing with the Italies, then smiled when he saw the young girl looking down curiously.

"No, un poco, I am not dead." He chuckled gently. "Merely sleeping."

The nation yawned and stretched himself out slightly, rousing the two others sleeping on him.

"_Mmm, altri cinque minuti, per favore..._" Veneziano mumbled quietly, burying his face into Spain's shirt.

"Spegnare la maledetta luce, idiota!" Romano groaned, covering his eyes with his arm. Spain laughed fondly.

"Hora de levantarse, los dormidos! Siesta ha terminado." He cooed gently.

Veneziano yawned, wriggled a bit, then opened his eyes lazily. He saw two big, curious green eyes staring back at him. He blinked and sat up.

"Ciao!" he smiled.

"Were you sleeping too?" Mary asked, tilting her head.

"Si." Veneziano nodded. Then he spotted the hamster. "Aw, carino!"

While Veneziano and Mary were preoccupied with Crackers, Spain stroked Romano's hair and shook him gently.

"Roma~ the meeting is going to start soon."

"Shut the fuck up, dammit!" the Italian growled, still refusing to open his eyes.

"Ah, Roma! Careful, there are young children about!" Spain scolded.

Romano's eyes shot open at the mention of 'young children'. He spotted his brother with the young girl.

"Who the hell is that?"

"I don't know, but she is sweet, si?"

"Shut it, stupido." He muttered, then glanced around the hallway, which was now almost empty of countries, except Japan helping Greece up, and England hovering, looking in America's direction with a worried from on his face. "Come on idioti, the meeting is about to start."

Romano made one attempt at pushing himself up, but failed. Spain laughed (and got smacked) then got up and helped him. Romano cuffed Veneziano around the back of the head, then dragged Spain away from them both.

Mary stared after them, a small pout on her face.

"That guy is mean." She said.

"Fratello is nice enough – if you get to know him, and don't wake him up from a siesta..."

~~::.::~~

The three scientists and two teenage children approvingly surveyed the meeting room. Well, except for disapproving looks in Mary's direction. The child was seated in Veneziano's lap, the two of them cooing over her fluffy white hamster, which seemed bored with the whole affair.

Dr. Richard cleared his throat to get the nation's attention and Sparky stepped forward.

It was obvious that the blond Danish man was making efforts to appear solemn, but the slight smile quirking his mouth was a give away to see his not-so-serious nature. "Hello. My name is Dr. Sparky Taylor, and whether you all know of the organization or not, I am part of the scientific team designated in studying nation personifications like yourselves." He began as formally as he could muster. Just because he was a super intelligent scientist didn't mean he had manners.

"These are my associates, Dr. Fidelio Cavo and Dr. Patrick Richards. Here with us are Dr. Richards' children: Sofia, Jonathon, and Mary happens to be sitting on Northern Italy's lap." Sparky continued, praying he had gotten the nation right.

Sparky stepped back and motioned Dr. Richards forward. Patrick nodded and relaxedly began his own speech. "Myself and my team" a motion to Sparky and Fidelio "have been assigned to studying, and trying to fix, the economic crisis and its effects on you all."

And this caused an uproar.

Switzerland leapt to his feet, with a bit of effort, and glared. "What do you mean by that? You make it sound like this is some cold or something!"

"Yes well, theoretically it i-" Fidelio began.

"Theoretically? That's not awesome. You have to have proof!" Prussia cut in. He wasn't some lab rat!

Romano was about to cut in, but his ability to speak was stopped by a few harsh coughs. This completely silenced the room, and he blushed as he realised everyone was looking at him.

"I'm sure you have all noticed the effect this economic crisis has had on all of you." Dr. Richards continued calmly.

"That doesn't mean it's something that needs to be _studied_ and _fixed_." Switzerland growled. "We are _aware_ of the economy and its effects on us. We try and fix it ourselves, but sometimes our governments screw stuff up!"

"Our governments screw up big time." Greece agreed in his quiet voice, roughened slightly by his ill state, but the edge of dangerous anger to his tone was somewhat scary in an almost Russia-esque way.

"But you must admit." Japan said shyly, for once voicing his opinion. "That it has affected us arr. Badry. Poor Greece-san and America-san are very unwerr, as werr as the Itary brothers."

Everyone looked at him, and the island nation blushed slightly before continuing. "Even though it may not be comfortabre to be 'studied', the scientists onry have best intentions at heart. They want to herp us. So rets at reast hear them out."

The silence continued, but now everyone looked expectantly at the scientists.

"Thank you, Japan." Dr. Richards said, clearing his throat. "Now. If there aren't any more interruptions." Dr. Richards pointedly looked around the conference room. "I will explain our plan. My daughter, Mary, is actually the one who thought of the rough idea."

Mary, quite obviously, looked pleased at the revelation that something important was because of her. Her hamster still looked bored.

"The theory we'd like to be testing" disapproving looks at the word theory "is if the economy affects you, can you affect the economy?" Dr. Richards said with utmost seriousness.

"Was?" Prussia and Germany asked together, albeit Prussia sounded more outraged than his younger brother.

"Well how the hell are you even thinking that could _work_?" Switzerland barked, once again offended. "What are you trying to base this on?"

"I don't like how you're thinking about us as test subjects and experiments, bastardi!" Romano growled, glaring from the scientists to the young child on his brother's lap. "And you're basing this on something a _child_ said?"

"It was an idea sparked by something Mary told me about her hamster, yes." Dr. Richards kept a calm voice, but nervously shifted his weight. "Mary, why don't you tell them?"

Mary had been pouting slightly since Romano voiced his disagreement with the idea originating from her, but smiled happily when she was asked to speak.

"Crackers wasn't looking well, so I thought living by himself in an enclosure outside might help him!" she finished proudly and Veneziano smiled down at her and ruffled her hair, though even he had been looking worried and serious since the start of the meeting.

"I don't know about you, but that hamster still looks pretty pissed off to me." Romano commented with a disdainful glance at the small creature. "Did you even test that theory?"

"But we aren't hamsters dude!" America addressed the scientists, frowning.

"We may not be what you call 'normal' people, but we are called 'personifications' by you aren't we? The core meaning of a personification is 'representation as a human'. You have to remember that we don't appreciate being treated like animals." England pointed out, keeping the same calm tone as Dr. Richards, although the irritation visible in his eyes seeped through to his words.

"We have survived economic problems before, many times!" Switzerland argued, pulling himself to his feet. Many countries nodded and made noises of agreement. "We know this is serious, but we've pulled through worse than money problems. What makes you think that you will do any better at 'fixing' this than we will? Your two youngest scientists look in their twenties, Dr. Richards maybe late thirties early forties. We are _centuries_ old, _millennia_ old."

"And just because you think of us as representing one country, we haven't always been the same; right now I help West and represent the Eastern part of Germany. Everyone here will continue to know me as Prussia, and before I was the Teutonic Prussia I was Old Prussia." The albino pointed out. "But we've also had predecessors; mine and Germany's grandfather was Germania."

For a moment, Sparky perked up, and was heard by those close enough saying to Fedelio "So they _can _reproduce! Ha!", and this caused yet another uproar.

"What the fuck have you guys been _thinking_ about trying out?" Romano roared, rising angrily from his chair, before doubling over coughing again. Immediately Spain was up by his side to help him, and Veneziano abandoned Mary on his chair to run over as well.

"Vhere are you guys based?" Germany demanded.

"Ze 'ead guy ees British; zey must be based een 'ees ountry." France said.

"Hey, I haven't had any official paperwork, I have no idea where they're from, so don't try and pin it on me you frog-faced twat!"

After the angry babble has subsided, leaving Greece leaning heavily back against his chair, wheezing and panting in an attempt to breath properly, America more flushed than before and Romano still coughing with a worried Spain sat next to him and Veneziano crouched by his side, Japan cleared his throat and again spoke up.

"I get the feering I wirr regret asking this, but if anyone was to agree to this, how wourd you even go about it?"

Behind the senior scientist, Sparky and Fedelio glanced nervously at each other. Their theory had already met so much resistance, and they hadn't even gotten to the part they'd been expecting to irk the nations. Johnny was practically shaking with irritation. The young man glared, and though Fidelio and Sparky both moved to shut him up, John opened his mouth first. "You're all being a bunch of assholes! I mean, my father and his colleagues bust a nut thinking of all the ways this could go! It's not like they're doing this to harm you! They want to help!" Jonathon's voice was then muffled as Sofia clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Know your place!" she hissed at her brother. "Or you can bugger off!"

"Both of you hush, or I'll make sure the Doc sends you to live with your mother." Fidelio warned.

"If we're all done." Dr. Richards said with a pointed look at his children. "I'll continue. " He sent an even look at France. "We're based on an island that is international land. No country. And I'm not head of the department. It's a rotation.

"Anything mentioned by Dr. Taylor" an evil eye sent in Sparky's direction "was just a theory. Dr. Taylor and Dr. Covas are young and often think of things that can be described as… unethical. This does not mean these theories were to be followed through." Dr. Richards continued.

"So you're going to let people with 'unethical' ideas try to treat us like lab rats!" Switzerland explained.

"Now you all stop it and let my daddy finish!" When had Mary gotten up on the table? And why was her hamster on her head? But no one dared argue, for the pigtail sporting six year old looked about ready to claw up anybody who argued.

A rueful smile made its way onto Patrick Richards' face. "Thank you, Mary. Anyway. If I may say, have any of you ever been this sick from the economy before, save for America's great depression? Or had a team designated by your leaders to try and aide you?"

"Vell, no…" Germany conceded, suddenly looking very drained of, well, everything.

"And this would be a short trial. If you or your economies showed no improvement, we would halt the test and send you all home." Fidelio added.

"Ooh, then explain, Da ze~! South Korea wants to know what we'd be doing!" Korea managed to still have his normal sunny attitude, despite looking just as bad as everyone else.

Sparky grinned. Were Asian countries just naturally cooperative? "We know you all are infinitely older than your looks suggest. This is why we think this might work. At some point each and every one of you was just a collection of tribes. Those tribe's economies were just the trading of goods with other tribes, but otherwise self-sufficiency. We hope to, ah, mimic this and think that if you all can create a stable economy with one another, it might affect the world's actual economy." Sparky explained as Mary got down from the table and plunked herself back in Veneziano's lap.

"...du haste wohl Witze mich..." Switzerland muttered, staring for a moment at the scientist before burying his face in his hands.

"Would that even work, man?" America asked, turning to England.

"In theory..." the Englishman sighed. "If something is affected by another thing, chances are, the reverse is true as well. They're hoping this 'reverse affection' applies to us; the economy affects us, so we might affect the economy. That's why they think this'll work."

"There's a chance it _could_ work then?" Spain piped up.

"We really hope so." Fidelio nodded. Spain shot another glance at Romano, and nodded. "I'm in."

The scientists had a momentary look of shock pass over all of their faces. A few of the countries were looking over at Spain as well.

"...I agree with Spain. I'll take part." England muttered eventually.

"Not often that happens, huh, mi amigo?" Spain chuckled, smiling over at the island nation.

"No. That was the one exception." England replied, but he smirked slightly too.

"I can see how this could benefit us, if the theory is correct." Germany said, furrowing his brows and closing his eyes in a somewhat unwilling expression. "I vill go too."

"I guess I have to agree too, hey bruder?" Prussia asked, smirking.

"Vell, you are currently representing part of me, though it really makes no difference if you don't."

"Nah, I can't leave my _jungeren Bruder_ to fend for himself. I have to come and help you, cause I'm awesome, and you need awesomeness, kesesese~" Prussia cackled, causing Germany to face-palm.

"I can also see the benefit." Austria agreed.

"I'm in, da-ze!"

"I will go, aru."

"I also agree."

The three Asian nations nodded their agreement.

"I'm totally in! You guess need a hero in case you get in trouble, hahaha!" America laughed, though paused to cough a few times.

"...I guess...it couldn't hurt for me to... see what happens..." Greece said lazily. Apparently, this was enough for him, because he closed his eyes and started snoring softly.

Eventually, only three people had not agreed to take part; Switzerland, who was apparently still sore over being told what to do economically, and the Italies, because although Veneziano would have readily agreed, he really needed to discuss with his brother, as being unified meant the decision was not completely his.

"Mi scusi, bambina, I must go talk to my brother." Veneziano said quietly to the little girl, leaving her on his chair again. As he walked over, Spain seemed to be about to go over to the young girl, but Romano caught his arm.

"No you don't, pedo bastard." He growled. "Stay here."

"Aw, but Roma, she's cute and look, she's just sat there all alone!"

"Se si va da nessuna parte io strappare la palle." Romano threatened.

"Si quieres que me quede mucho, Roma, lo hare. Solo para ti, mi amor~!" Spain cooed happily.

"Accidenti a ti!" Romano huffed, but relaxed back into his chair when it seemed Spain would stay sat. He kept a grip on his shirt sleeve just as a precautionary measure.

"Veh, fratello." Veneziano said quietly, tapping his brother's shoulder. "Are we going to agree to this?"

"No, idiota." Romano hissed. "If this gets any worse, something could happen to you. I would much rather stay and keep an eye on this the way I know how to do than take part in some stupid human experiment."

"But, fratello...!"

"No!" Romano grabbed his brother's collar and pulled him closer. "We both know that I am the tougher of us two. If this experiment ever takes a downhill turn, _you _will get sicker, and if you get much sicker than you are right now, you are going to suffer! Not to mention I won't be able to take care of you."

Veneziano opened his mouth to speak but Romano cut him off again.

"See this my way fratellino. No."

With that, Romano roughly pushed his brother away by the grip on his collar. Still, Veneziano persisted.

"But if we do nothing, _you _will get sicker! You are far worse off than I am, if you stay and get worse, you'll be in so much pain! I don't want you to be in pain either, fratello!"

"Siate grati e chiudere l'inferno in su!" Romano snapped. "Now go and keep the little girl happy, Spain is still trying to go over to her and I don't think it'd be a great idea to let him near a young child."

"Veh~, but fratello Spagna is fine with kids." Veneziano murmured.

"He's a freaking perv, that's what he is with kids. Just go, idiota." Romano growled in response, though he sent a tiny, tiny smile his brother's way. Veneziano just smiled and walked back over to Mary, scooping her back onto his lap and gently petting the still bored-as-all-heck looking hamster perched atop her head.

The other countries, who had been talking amongst one another while waiting for the opinions of those who had not agreed, gradually ceased their chattering and looked expectantly at Switzerland, Veneziano and Romano.

"I do not like it." Switzerland announced. "At all. All this 'hypothetical' and 'experimental' talk... I simply don't like it."

There was a small murmur before Switzerland silenced it by continuing.

"However..." he coughed, though this was more like an awkward clearing of the throat than anything related to the ill state everyone was in. "I will participate. But if anything starts looking bad, I am pulling out."

Switzerland sent a hard glare the scientists' way to show them that this was the only way he'd agree, then buried his face in his hands, growling lowly. Austria looked over at him with some degree of sympathy.

"He's just worrying about not being around Liechtenstein is all." The aristocrat stated.

"I'm her older brother, I'm meant to be around to protect her." The Swiss man muttered.

"She's got the best economy is Europe, she'll be fine." Austria assured him.

"Well, I know that." Switzerland snapped. "...I don't like to leave her alone."

He sighed and sat still. Now everyone was looking over at the Italy brothers. Romano was resting forward on the table, eyes half closed in a lazy, somewhat arrogant and partially angry glare expression. Veneziano was starting to look somewhat nervous, fidgeting in his seat and still absent-mindedly stroking Crackers.

Romano opened his mouth to speak, presumably a lazy insult using colourful language, but he never put his thought to speech, because his brother cut across, voice desperate and somewhat scared. Probably because he knew what he was about to say would provoke his brother to blind rage.

"We agree." He rushed. For a moment Romano stared in silence at him. Veneziano whispered "Mi dispiace..." and then Romano leapt up out of his chair and towards his northern brother.

Spain jumped up and caught both of the Italian's arms, holding them behind his back and restraining him as he tried to thoroughly murder his brother. Veneziano had jumped in his seat then frozen, Mary still in his lap. Once the younger one had managed to register Romano was restrained and not about to kill him, he gently manoeuvred Mary off his lap.

"Run to your papa now bambina. And don't listen to what fratello is saying." He told her quietly, giving her a small push in her father's direction. Mary shot a quick glance at the older, enraged Italian, who was currently yelling a fast string of as many swear words in Italian as he could, before trotting leisurely over to her father like nothing had happened.

" _IDIOTA! Bastardo, stupido fottuto idiota fratello! Cazzo! Lasciami andare! Ho intenziona di uccidere cazzo ti, Veneziano, CAZZO TI UCCIDO! Merda! Cazzo! Prendi il cazzo di dosso, bastardo maledetto pomadoro! Ho intenziona di uccidere anche te...!_" he screamed, red faced, coughing violently but still attempting to wrench himself from Spain's strong grip and throttle Veneziano.

"Calmati Romano! Potrai farti male, non ti eccitare troppo!" Veneziano cried desperately. Spain had changed his position so his arms were wrapped securely around Romano's heaving chest and still trap his arms behind him.

"Romano, Romano, calm!" he urged. Romano was still swearing fluently. "Roma, you're going to hurt yourself!"

Romano's cursing was interrupted spasmodically by coughing and gasping for breath, and he would occasionally make a sudden jerk to try and get free, but he was weakening and he knew it. Veneziano was still panicking slightly over his brother's welfare (and his own) and Spain was now trying out his 'happiness charm' as a method to soothe the feisty Italian.

"Shut... the fuck... up... bastardo..." Romano panted eventually. He glared over at Veneziano. "Idiota. I said...I didn't want us... to participate."

"But Romano, if there's a chance it'll help us, you, I want to try it, at least. How about if anything happens, we pull out, like Switzerland, si?"

"...si." the older Italian muttered eventually. "Spain..."

Romano had been about to tell the older country to get off him, but instead ended up just leaning back against him, exhausted. Spain sat them down again, allowing Romano to lean onto his chest to regain his breath and rest. The whole room was in a slightly shocked silence; the humans, especially, seemed almost scared: Sparky had half-hidden behind Fidelio, who was frozen still. The nations were used to the brothers arguing, indeed, to a lot of arguing from a lot of people, but the sudden and violent reaction had startled even them some.

"Ahem." Dr. Richards cleared his throat.

The nations all went silent and looked expectantly at Dr. Richards. It was silent for several minutes, until a triumphant cry of "I claim these breasts in the name of Korea, da ze~" and Japan yelling in surprise broke the silence.

"Korea, get off of Japan." China sighed in an exasperated manor.

"B-but, aniki!" Korea whined, still groping Japan's chest. After a moment Korea released his brother and slumped back in his own seat, pouting childishly.

"What the hell." Sparky muttered a wide eyed expression on his face. Fidelio just sighed and pushed Sparky lightly out of the way. "If you're all in agreement, we have facilities back at our research lab to check your current status. If anything happens we have full medical facilities and all of us are medically trained." Fidelio explained.

Dr. Richards gave the South American an approving nod before marching out of the room, a dozing Mary in his arms and Sofia and Johnny trailing after him.

"Ah! Wait up, Doc!" Sparky yelled, jogging after his boss.

"If you'd all…" Fidelio trailed off but made a motion towards the door.

Most of the nations left willingly, if a little hesitantly. It could be noted that they allowed Russia, who had remained silent most of the meeting to enjoy the arguments, to go first. Spain was carrying Romano, mostly because the southern half of Italy had started coughing bad enough that blood was now smeared slightly across his mouth. Both England and Canada (who had been ignored the entire meeting) were supporting America, who appeared oddly dizzy. And, well, it took Japan and Korea to support Greece.

They were all more than surprised to find a jet with rather plush interior waiting for them.

"America's boss told us to use it." Fidelio stated, which answered all questions about the strange plane.

One two hour flight later found the nations entering large facilities on a relatively jungle-esque island. The island was relatively small, by island standards. Though still large enough for inhabitation. Not counting the facilities and the part of the beach that were fenced off with them, there were about one and a half square kilometres of inhabitable land, beach and freshwater sources included.

The nations were directed inside and allowed to sit in an oddly living quarters-like part of the building. Though it occurred to them that the scientists needed to sleep sometime.

Doctor Richards had at some point pulled on a lab coat and was now smoothing his hands over the water-resistant fabric. "Japan, if you'd come with me?" he directed. Grudgingly the island nation rose to follow the doctor.

He was led through a maze of white hallways, the purely sterile smell burning his nose and a giving him a shivery reminder of a hospital.

"In here." Dr. Richards directed. It was a room much like an office with a rather comfortable chair in front of the desk. After a moment, Japan took this chair and the doctor sat across from him.

Dr. Richards picked up a clipboard and offered it to Japan. "Check that the written data is correct."

Japan looked the sheet over. His country name, his human name, a couple bits of vital information like blood type.

"Now, have you been feeling any of these symptoms?" asked Dr. Richards after Japan handed him back the clipboard. The redheaded doctor proceeded to list just about any symptom that one had the capability of imagining.

After several minutes of confirming and denying symptoms, the doctor proceeded to ask "How long has this been going on?" a short reply from Japan indicated the time when Dr. Richards had figured the economy was truly in collapse.

The questions continued for some time before Dr. Richards placed the clipboard papers away in a file and arose, directing Japan to a room to wait.

This continued with each country for some time, Sparky and Fidelio helping after a while to get it done.

The nations were then guided (and assisted in certain cases) outside. The large chain link fence's gate was pushed open and the three scientists nudged the nations through before closing it once more.

"We'll meet you out here tomorrow evening before sundown to check your progress. Have a good day." And with that Patrick Richards turned and marched away, followed by a more apprehensive Sparky and Fidelio.

"So, now what?" America asked after a couple minutes.

"Maybe we should find a fresh water source and food." Canada suggested.

"Great idea, Birdie!" Prussia exclaimed with a huge smile, proceeding to attempt to drag the poor Canadian away.

"Wait a second, Prussia. We need to be organized about this." Austria stated pointedly.

"Oh, get the stick out of your ass, Roddy." Prussia brushed the other off. And oh how Austria wished he had his piano! For right now he couldn't express his anger at the albino.

"Enough!" England snapped. "How about this? Because America, Greece, Veneziano, and Romano are the worst off, a couple of us stay here with them, a couple of us go and look for, or build, a place to sleep, and the rest go find food and drinkable water."

"Korea would like to look for shelter with aniki!" Korea declared with a vibrant smile.

Before China could protest, Russia put in "I will go with Korea and YaoYao."

"Ah, I will stay here with Greece-san." Japan said after a moment of silence between the nations.

"Er, I'll stay with America. B-because I can get him to listen to me." England said, appearing flustered.

"I'll stay to keep an eye on my little Roma~ And Feli too."

"Hey West, come with me and Birdie! You know how to tell if stuff is edible!" Prussia exclaimed after a moment. Why Germany agreed was a mystery in itself.

So that left Austria and Switzerland. "I'm going to look around a bit and see what I can find." Switzerland stated and walked off. Austria rolled his eyes but followed after the blond on the pretext of making sure he wasn't maimed.

=X=

_A/N: Long chapter is freaking long~_

_Translations (oh joy...)_

Altri cinque minuti, per favore (Italian) = Five more minutes, please...

Spegnare la maledetta luce, idiota (Italian) = Turn off the light, idiot!

Hora de levantarse, los dormidos! Siesta ha terminado (Spanish) = Time to wake up, sleepy ones! Siesta has ended.

Carino (Italian) = Cute

Idioti (Italian) = Idiots

Was (German) = What?

...du haste wohl Witze mich (German) = ...you have got to be kidding me.

Mi amigo (Spanish) = my friend

Jungeren Bruder (German) = younger brother

Mi scusi, bambina (Italian) = Excuse me, little girl

Se si va da nessuna parte io strappare la palle (Italian) = If you go anywhere I will rip your balls off.

Si quieres que me quede mucho, Roma, lo hare. Solo para ti, mi amor~! (Spanish) If you want me to stay that much, Roma, I will. Only for you, my love~!

Accidenti a ti (Italian) = Damn you!

Fratellino (Italian) = Little brother

Siate grati e chiudere l'inferno in su (Italian) = Be grateful and shut the hell up.

IDIOTA! Bastardo, stupido fottuto idiota fratello! Cazzo! Lasciami andare! Ho intenziona di uccidere cazzo ti, Veneziano, CAZZO TI UCCIDO! Merda! Cazzo! Prendi il cazzo di dosso, bastardo maledetto pomadoro! Ho intenziona di uccidere anche te...! (Italian) = IDIOT! Bastard, stupid fucking idiot brother! Fuck! Let me go! I am going to fucking kill you Veneziano, fucking KILL YOU! Shit! Fucking hell! Get the fuck off me you damn tomato bastard! I'm going to kill you too...!

_Jem: Well guys, I hope you like this chapter! These are somewhat annoying to spell-check cause of all the foreign words  
>But fun all the same!<br>Grazie to our three reviews, they made us very happy~ : __**Trouble Cookie, NONMESWEREAVAILABLE**__, and __**Skadiyoko**__! Reviews make us happy and inspired~._

_Well, ciao from me! *waves*_

_**Mouse: Hehe, thanks from me to. You lovely reviewers had me squealing with joy. Next chapter will probably be up soon, simply because Jem and I love writing this. Auf Wiedersehen~**_


	3. Chapter 2: Lets Spilt Up, Gang!

**In The Name Of Science**

**Chapter 2: Lets Split Up, Gang!**

_A/N: Whoo, chapter 2 is here~!_

_Jem: I'm so happy about the feedback we got 8D  
>Well, hopefully you like this chapter just as much as last chapter. After this, Chapter 3 may be a little longer being updated, because I'm in Italy and Europe for two weeks, so I won't be able to be on my computer as often as usual. And then after that, back to school *cries*<em>

_Mouse: Unfortunately my schedule will also mean more time to the next chapter. I have a birthday party I'm being dragged to this weekend, and am making churros with a friend next week, and the rest of my time will likely be spent preparing to return to school. Sorry guys._

_Jem: Other than that... ONWARDS!_

=X=

So the group of China, Korea, and Russia started off, Korea in the lead and looking decidedly peppy, considering the dark circles under his eyes and gaunt quality of his face.

"So, what should this shelter look like, da ze?" Korea asked after a moment, ducking under a tree branch.

"Something that will keep the rain off, keep any wild animals out, and fit all of us in a time of need." China instructed tersely. Should Korea really be wasting his energy like that? He was pretty bad off.

"Yao Yao, come and look at this." Russia called from somewhere to China's left.

China sighed and grabbed Korea by the back of his navy and white hanbok, dragging the over exuberant nation with him.

Russia was standing in a clearing that had been caused by a felled tree. At closer inspection, the top of the tree was resting on a tall bit of rock that blended in a hilly rock. And in that rock was… a hollowed out area! A cave combined with that leaning tree…

"Russia, you're a genius, aru!" China exclaimed, hugging the Russian before he realized what exactly he was doing. Face going a vibrant shade of red and tuning out Korea's whining of wanting a hug to, china pulled himself away from a smiling Russia.

Korea seemed to notice the tree and cave for the first time. "Ooh, that'll make great shelter when we fix it!" he exclaimed.

"What?" Russia blinked at the exuberant younger.

"Well one time me and America were at his house and we were bored so we went to this survival camp for the day and we learned how to make a lean-to from a fallen tree." Korea explained happily.

"Then how?" China asked. Korea had learned something? From America?

"Well, you lean sticks all up against it that are a little taller than the part of the tree. So once those are all up, you use something to type the tops. We braided ropes out of these tall pieces of grass that cut our fingers but they worked real well. Then you get some dry, dead leaves and throw those over the sides and then get more sticks so the leaves don't blow away. That makes it in-sul-at-ed. Oh, and at the part of the tree real close to the ground, uhm, the base, you leave out a bunch of sticks on one side to make a door." Korea explained long-windedly, smiling as he finished.

"Let's get started, aru."

~~::.::~~

Switzerland pushed aggressively through the foliage of the forest, huffing somewhat angrily. Austria followed slowly behind, picking his way around everything delicately. The Swiss man looked behind him and huffed again.

"Honestly Austria, you aren't going to get anywhere like that. Hurry up; I'm not going to wait for you!"

"So what are you doing now exactly?" the Austrian asked, raising his eyebrows. Switzerland scowled and went slightly pink.

"If I kept walking while looking back to talk to you, I'd trip over something, wouldn't I?" he snapped, turning around and once again started fighting against the dense trees. Austria just sighed and followed.

After a while, Austria decided to break the silence.

"So what are we actually looking for, Vash?"

"One: water and food. Two: something to use as a weapon." The blonde said, looking briefly over his shoulder. He stumbled slightly on something, but simply righted himself and continued as if it hadn't happened. Really, Austria thought, he was a pretty stubborn guy. And not at all talkative, though really Austria didn't mind too much. If Switzerland spoke it was (usually) rational, valid, and to the point.

Eventually, the two caught the sound of a quiet trickling; some sort of water spring. Switzerland paused to listen for the direction, then set off towards it, occasionally pausing to correct his direction. Soon enough, the two caught sight of what they had been searching for – a reasonable sized stream ran through a small clearing, with small grey rocks bordering it.

"Do you think its drinkable?" Austria asked as they stood by the edge of the stream. Switzerland cast a scrutinizing gaze over the water.

"It looks clear, and its running. If its fresh-water, then it should be drinkable." He said eventually crouching down and scooping a handful of water. He brought it to his lips. "Yeah, it's clean and fresh."

Switzerland placed his hand down beside him to push himself back up, then drew it hastily back with a small gasp.

"What is it?" Austria asked, looking down to where the Swiss man had his hand to his mouth, apparently sucking a wound.

"A sharp rock. Hold on..." Switzerland shifted through the rocks, before finding the one he'd cut himself on. It was palm-sized, with one very sharp edge. Switzerland made a small thoughtful hum in the back of his throat, then stood up, pocketing the rock. "It could come in useful."

Switzerland walked over to a large tree near where they'd come through, and marked it with a 'W' and a small arrow. After nodding satisfactorily, he gestured for Austria to follow him, and they set off again.

~~::.::~~

"Chicken! Prussia exclaimed, pointing at a bird pecking at the ground. Canada, Germany, and himself had set off about twenty minutes before and had been looking for food.

Said 'chicken' picked it's head up and stared at them stupidly before going back to pecking at the dirt, clucking softly and strutting across the ground.

"Hey Birdie. Pick the chicken up while I go look for some flint rocks." Prussia said before disappearing into the bushes, leaving two confused blonds and a clucking bird.

After a moment Canada did pick up the bird. It sat in his arms contently, clucking periodically and pecking at his shoulder.

After several minutes of thought and conversation between Germany and Canada, they set about making a rudimentary pen to hold the chicken. After all, chickens laid eggs and they might find more animals. And Germany had the idea that they might need something to hold fruit. So the chicken was put down and the brain-lacking bird continued to stand there stupidly, strutting across the ground periodically.

"Is there something wrong with it?" Germany asked at length. He was making a makeshift pen, tall sticks with the end sharpened and driven into the ground directly next to each other. Canada had woven a kind of roof from tall grass, vines, and thin, but sturdy, sticks. He had then draped it over the finished half of the pen- in case it rained. Miserable animals were not fun to work with.

"I think it's never had human contact so it doesn't know to run away." Canada responded quietly, nudging the chicken into the pen area so Germany could attach the 'gate'. The pen was tall, the top reaching Germany's shoulders.

Canada went back to making a kind of basket for any edible fruit. It was obvious that the nation's survival instincts were kicking in. And, well, memories from tribal times were probably also at work. Prussia wound up returning, herding a bore piglet.

"Hey! I found this pig and some flint rock rocks." Prussia greeted, and then took a good look at what Germany and Canada had made.

"Wow, West, Mattie, I didn't know you guys could do that!" Prussia exclaimed in pure surprise.

"When I was little I lived with Inuit tribes." Canada supplied quietly, helping Prussia coax the fat piglet into the pen.

"Hold on." Prussia muttered, crouching next to the chicken. Kneeling with one knee to the ground and the other up, he gently pinned the bird to his leg and plucked the primary feathers from its wings. "There, now it can't fly away." He stated proudly.

"Bruder?"

"Ja, West?"

"You do know that for the boar to be edible it has to be castrated, right?"

~~::.::~~

Back at the clearing, all the nations that had opted to stay behind had managed to roll over a felled tree-trunk to use as a seat – or in certain cases, a headrest. America was resting back against a rock with England fussing over him, scolding him for getting into so much trouble and scowling at him worriedly. Romano and Veneziano were curled up with Spain again, the oldest complaining occasionally, the youngest whimpering quietly, starting to feel a bit less chipper. Either no-one noticed, or no-one pointed out, that Romano was doing his best to comfort his brother by rubbing his arm gently. Greece was laid down, head resting up on the log, Japan sat quietly and patiently beside him, keeping a close eye on him.

"You should be resting a bit too, y'know, England. You're being affected too!" America said eventually, partially just to stop England trying so hard to look after him.

"I'm not that bad off." England winced. He hadn't been showing many signs of it, but he was still a bit sore from his riots. He shook his head. "You're the wanker who got himself into stupid amounts of trouble."

"We are all in need of a bit of rest, England-san." Japan said.

"Yeah! You worry too much dude. Take a break." America agreed, nodding his head and finding out that wasn't a good idea as he tipped dizzily. England helped him sit straight until he gathered his bearings again, then sat a little away from his with a barely noticeable huff.

"Veh~, I don't like this. It hurts!" Veneziano complained quietly, giving a tiny sniffle.

"Stupid damn humans, with their damned economy. They screw it up, we suffer! It's goddamn unfair." Romano growled, gently squeezing his brother's hand and feeling his forehead. "Hmmph. Get some sleep, Veneziano. You'll feel a bit better."

Veneziano whimpered again, nestled himself closer to Spain, and closed his eyes. Romano kept an eye on him, and Spain kept his eye on Romano as the older Italian gave another few, weak, coughs.

"I swear, if this stupid fucking 'experiment' screws up, I'm going to kill those scientists." Romano huffed, glaring down at the ground. Spain patted his head gently, earning himself an elbow to the side and some growled threat in Italian no-one quite caught.

"Ret us arr hope it works, for everyone's sakes." Japan said quietly, casting a sad gaze over Greece.

Romano shifted, and relaxed back to join his brother in resting, though his expression didn't smooth out from its frown. America slid slightly further down his rock and his head lolled as he started to nod off, briefly causing England to have panic in his eyes, before he recovered himself and settled back again. Greece, who had been asleep the whole time anyway, rolled over in his sleep, one arm falling slightly away from his body and onto Japan's leg. This caused the Asian nation to jump and blush, but he seemed reluctant to move the hand for fear of disturbing his friend, so he sat still and somewhat tense.

And so they waited for the others to return.

~~::.::~~

Twenty minutes later found the groups returning to those left behind.

China, Korea, and Russia were the first back. Korea was grinning happily and marching in front of the other two. It could be noted that all three appeared physically tired, sweat shining on their faces.

"And what did you three get done?" England asked with an almost sarcastic edge to his voice. America was curled up on the ground next to him, trembling in his sleep.

"I made a shelter, da ze~! And Russia and aniki helped!" Korea proclaimed proudly, putting his cloth covered hands on his hips.

"Ah, so you mean China and Russia made shelter while you babbled. All right." England nodded, but earned a pout from the young nation.

"No!" Korea shook his head almost violently. "I made it, aniki and Russia helped." All eyes turned to China for confirmation that Korea had done something helpful. At a nod from China, all of them were considerably taken aback.

"You have to see it, da ze! It's got plenty of sleeping room, and around the outside of it the ground is silty so it's comfortable to sit out there! And Russia helped dig a fire pit." Korea rambled on cheerfully, moving and plunking himself on the ground next to Japan. Upon noticing most of the sickly nations were sleeping, Korea dropped his exuberant chatter to a whisper. China and Russia both sat down against the log, both tired from the day's exertions.

Slowly Korea dropped off, curling up on the ground next to his brother. Their nations had poor relations, but Korea and Japan grew up together as siblings, and that aspect seemed to shine through.

Meanwhile China was trying to keep awake. After several minutes of dozing off only to jerk back into sitting posture, the Asian nation allowed himself to doze off on Russia's shoulder.

Austria and Switzerland returned soon after. Vash sat himself near immediately on the log and set to work using his sharp stone to sharpen the end of a stick into a spear. Austria rolled his eyes but sat next to Switzerland anyway. The blond draped the end of his stick over his companion's legs, giving him enough leverage to work more evenly on creating a point.

America blinked disjointedly at the two. "You guys manage to find anything?" he mumbled tiredly before dropping back off to sleep.

"Water. I made markers to indicate where it is." Switzerland responded with disinterest.

"Who are we waiting o-" Austria began, only to be cut off.

"The awesome has returned!" Prussia declared, marching into the clearing, dragging along his brother and his friend.

"Shut up, potato bastard!" Romano snarled as Feliciano shifted and whimpered in his sleep.

"Guess you don't wanna hear about all the food we got. And ya know, I made West-"

"Bruder!"

"Castrate-"

"East!"

"A-!

"Preußen!"

"Pig!" And Prussia was cackling madly. Germany promptly whacked him upside the head.

"This means we can go sleep somewhere comfortable, da ze?" Korea asked around a soft yawn, looking like a small child as he rubbed at his eye.

"Er, yes. Korea, you remember where you built your shelter?" England questioned. At a nod of conformation, England continued. "Then you lead the way while the rest of us help those that are to unwell to walk by themselves."

Korea nodded obligingly and stood up, looking drained of his normal attitude.

"Feli." Romano shook his brother, earning a mumble of 'I want to skip training today.'

It took several minutes of shaking the auburn haired young man to wake him. Upon waking up, Feliciano stumbled to his feet and hugged Germany without the usual exuberance. "I'll help him." Germany stated quietly.

Romano didn't have much room to argue. Despite being awake and more aware of his surroundings, the older Italian couldn't even stand up. Which was pretty bad, seeing as Spain was shaky on his own feet. Immediately Prussia and France swooped in to help their friend.

"But what about Lovi?" Spain asked with a curious blink.

Indeed, Romano was swatting away everyone trying to aide him. Everyone was more than surprised when the elder Italian finally consented and allowed Canada to support him. Of course, Canada had never done anything to irritate Romano, and if he had it was forgotten.

England and America supported each other, one only still standing because of the other. China aided in Japan in the movement of Greece and those that were left fell in with the group, aiding where they could.

Korea led the way along a slim game trail, trudging along slowly and pausing when necessary. When they arrived at the shelter, those lucid enough to see it clearly gasped.

"You buirt that, Korea?" Japan asked in surprise. To be perfectly honest, Kiku had always thought his younger brother a waste of space.

"Mmmhmm." Korea hummed in reply.

Romano and Spain were allowed in first, Spain settling himself in the moss lined rock niche the shelter guarded, drawing Romano close. "I'm only doing this cause the ground's hard." Was the half hearted protest the Spaniard received.

There was still room in the rock niche, which would probably stay driest of the shelter, so England guided a hallucinating America back and made sure he was comfortable.

"Idiot." England muttered, taking Texas from America's face. The elder sat down as well and alternately pet America's hair and scolded him for being so reckless with money.

Germany attempted to guide Feliciano over to his brother and Spain, but the young man would have none of that. Sighing in exasperation, Germany lay himself down within the shelter and allowed Italy to cuddle him.

Greece blatantly refused entering the shelter, instead curling up like a cat on the fine, powdery dirt next to the shelter, drawing Japan with him. At first Kiku consented, figuring he could get up and move once Greece was asleep again. But then Heracles put his head in Kiku's lap and refused to let the flustered nation move.

Prussia started a small fire in the fire pit, sitting by it with the last awake nations: Korea, China, Russia, Switzerland, Austria, France, and Canada.

Russia dropped off first, slowly shifting into a laying position next to the fire. China wasn't far behind, Korea already dozing on his shoulder. It somehow wound up with Russia unconsciously cuddling China and Korea resting his head on his aniki's stomach.

"Go to bed." Switzerland muttered, nudging Austria with an elbow.

"You should probably sleep as well." Austria pointed out with an unnecessary sniff. The two walked off to the lean-to, probably more exhausted than they were letting on.

"I'll stay up. France, Birdie, go to sleep." Prussia said after several minutes' silence.

It was another twenty minutes before France and Canada were asleep. Prussia was still up, staring into the crackling flames. No one had eaten, but they were all probably jet lagged. And no one was well.

The ex-nation sighed, tossing some more of the wood they had found on the ground onto the fire. Tomorrow… tomorrow they'd probably all split up. Those who didn't keep the shelter would have to build their own, start their own fire, get their own wood pile, collect their own cache of food. So much work… And then there was water. Would they all share the water Vash had found if no more was located?

So many questions. It exhausted the albino. Finally, hours after everyone else, Prussia fell asleep.

=X=

_A/N: Aaand~ we're done!_

_Jem: So much fun writing again! This is seriously amazing to write, so fun being able to back and forwards with Mouse during the writing process! I never realised collabs were so fun to write xD I also think our writing styles blend together quite well, the only way to really tell is whether there are English or American spellings xD_

_Once again, comments are VERY appreciated. Seriously, you should see me when I get a nice review. I have to hope I'm not with my parents else I get really REALLY odd looks when I go 'eeeEEEEEE__**EEEEEE**__!' with happiness xD_

_Thank you to reviewers of last chapter: __**Trouble Cookie, **__'anon' __**QuirkToo lazy to log in**__ and__** Timpeni**__! Remember, anon reviews are turned on, so EVERYONE can review 8D._

_Okay, ciao!_

_Mouse: Aw, Jem. I love writing this with ya to. And damn right our writing blends! For we are brain twins. But you lovely reviewers. You make me so happy that I scare my various pets with my squeals of joy~ Please reviewers, keep me a happy camper. Oh, and most of this survival stuff should be accurate. I've done survival camps and stuff since I was little. Well, auf wiedersehen~_


	4. Chapter 3: I Claim This Land!

**In The Name Of Science:**

**Chapter 3: I Claim This Land!**

_A/N: IT'S FINALLY HERE~_

_Jem: Hallo~! I'm sure you've all been waiting __im__patiently for this chapter, and it's here now! It's been rather late getting out, due to my being on holiday at first, and then DREADED SCHOOL started again. And as we all know, school is an evil force created simply to take away the potential writing time of us wonderful creative writers! So yes. But it is here now! SO enjoy~_

_**Mouse: I've also been swamped with school, so enjoy.**_

_Warnings: Romano, Romano *shakes head* I am almost sure there is swearing somewhere._

=X=

The quiet chirping of birds was the first thing Germany heard when he woke up. He looked and found himself the first to rise. Slowly the blond freed himself from Italy's clinging. Trying in vain to smooth his bangs back from his face, Germany made his way out of the lean-to and looked around to find everyone else asleep.

Noting that it was still early, Germany tried to decide on what to do. After several minutes of indecisiveness and listening to Prussia snore, Germany set off into the woods. He had decided on retrieving some of the fruit they had collected the day before as breakfast.

Upon his return, the blond nation found most of the others stirring, rubbing their eyes and yawning.

"Hey, thanks West." Prussia mumbled, accepting the fruit offered to him. Slowly the other drowsy nations stumbled over to those that had fallen asleep around the fire. Fruits were distributed, and then they went about puzzling over how to open a coconut.

"Ooh, I remember! I used to eat coconuts when I was in South America!" Spain exclaimed with a big grin.

With everyone watching with curiosity and mild confusion, Spain took the coconut and, rather unceremoniously, dropped it onto a rock repeatedly until there was a big enough split in the husk to remove it and get to the seed. Pulling a slim branch from a tree, Spain stabbed the coconut in one of the darkened indents, making a hole. "There." The nation handed the coconut off to Romano.

"You learned that in the South Americas?" England asked skeptically, watching the southern half of Italy take a hesitant sip of coconut milk.

"Mmmhmm. In the Caribbean. Jamaica showed me how to do it~." Spain responded cheerfully.

"How'd you stab it with only a stick?" America couldn't help asking.

"Oh! The seed is soft for a little while; it only gets hard after drying."

More coconuts were opened and what was passing for breakfast was being enjoyed. The sickest of the nations looked much better than the day before, jet lag probably having taken its toll on them all.

Romano was doing his best to tune his brother out when he heard a distinct squawk, followed by a flutter of feathers. A chicken, coppery-gold with darker flecks, went strutting across the ground and settled itself into Romano's lap. The Italian looked he had no idea as to how to react.

"Hey look, another chicken." Prussia said offhandedly as Romano attempted to push the chicken off his lap. He simply succeeded in shooing it away from a moment, only for it to jump back into his lap.

"What the hell?" the Italian muttered, eventually allowing the chicken to sit in his lap. He looked curiously down at the bird.

"Cute~!" Veneziano and Spain cooed, peering over Romano's shoulders to look at the chicken.

"Look Roma, it likes you!" Spain laughed, watching as the bird made itself comfortable and nestles closer to Romano.

Romano hummed thoughtfully, absentmindedly running his hands over the chicken that had, for some reason, taken a liking to him.

"Can I pet it?" Veneziano asked excitedly, reaching out a hand.

Apparently, the chicken disagreed with this, because before the youngest Italian could touch it, it squawked and pecked his hand.

"Aw~!" Feliciano whines. "It pecked me!"

"Ha!" Romano smirked. "The chicken likes me better than you."

The northern brother pouted slightly.

"It's feisty – kinda like you Roma~!" Spain exclaimed, as he stuck out one finger near the bird and it pecked him too.

"Whatever, idiota." Romano told him.

The rest of the camp stared in bewilderment as the chicken set about chasing Spain away from Romano and settles down to be petted again. Romano chuckled slightly and smirked at the older nation.

Russia broke the awed silence.

"We can eat it, da?" he asked cheerfully, smiling.

The chicken clucked a few times, then got up off Romano's lap and disappeared into the trees.

"Idiota...you scared her." Romano muttered. Russia intimidated him, so he wasn't about to blow up at him. However, the Italian couldn't help but feel just a little bit disappointed.

"So it's a she now?" Prussia scoffed.

However, only a minute after 'her' departure, the chicken returned, bringing some fruit with her. She deposited it in front of Romano, and settled close to him again.

"Haha...I got fruit." Romano chuckled quietly, stroking the chicken. "She's mine now."

A few of the nations looked over again, confused, then went back to their breakfasts. Prussia was the first to speak again.

"So...what do we do now?" he asked. Everyone looked between each other.

"I'm planning to scout the island and look for territory. We have to split up, after all." Switzerland said.

"But is there enough room for everyone to have their own territory? We don't know how big this island is." Austria pointed out.

"And even so, not all of us are well enough to survive on their own! Especially this useless lump." England poked the American beside him.

"Maybe we courd for some arriances? The sick nations should have at reast one stronger nation to herp them." Japan suggested.

"Why do we even need to split up?" America asked.

"How are we meant to establish trade is there aren't multiple parties for trade to take place between you dumb wanker?" England snapped at him, slapping him over the head, then catching him as the weakened American toppled slightly.

"I'll take Lovi and Feli with me~!" Spain grinned happily. Romano glanced up at him with a small huff, muttering something under his breath, before going back to petting his chicken.

"Korea wants to go with aniki, da ze~!" Korea announced loudly.

"I think I'll find somewhere on my own, near America so I can keep an eye on him..." Canada said quietly, though no-one heard him.

"I think I'll-"

"Find somewhere awesome to share with my awesomeness, kesesese~!"

"Bruder, aren't you old enough to have your own land? Honestly."

"But West~"

"Fine." Germany rubbed his temples. His brother was such a handful sometimes.

Austria had been glancing at Switzerland uncomfortably, until eventually the blonde sighed, exasperated.

"Fine, I'll join up with you! Know from firsthand experience how useless you are on your own..." Switzerland sighed, throwing up his hands.

"I never asked." The Austrian sniffed, nose in the air. "But if you insist."

"Du bist unmöglich..."Switzerland muttered to himself.

"I wirr stay with Greece-san." Japan offered. The Greek beside him smiles, and then curled up to sleep around Japan's feet.

"I will find somewhere big for myself, da?" Russia smiled.

"I am 'eart-broken! Does no-one want ze fabulous moi?" France gasped dramatically, hand on his heart. Instantly a round of mumbles, expressing their thoughts on sharing territory with France, went around.

"If you want to become one, just say, da?" The large Russia piped up again, ever present creepy grin on his face. France blanched slightly.

"A-ah...non, merci, Russia." He chuckled nervously. Everyone inched away as a faint purple aura and 'kolkolkol' started emitting from the now frowning Russian.

"Right." Switzerland, clearing his throat and standing up. "I'm going to check the island out. Austria, if you're coming, now is the time."

Austria rolled his eyes, nodded curtly, and stood.

"Hold on a moment."Germany called. Switzerland turned back with a scowl. "I suggest ve keep this main camp and vater source neutral land – that vay it'll make good meeting ground, and anyone vho has territory vith little or no vater vill have access to it freely."

Switzerland nodded mutely and turned off into the foliage, followed by Austria. "Remember we meet at the facility tonight!" was the last (muffled) thing the pair heard from the other nations that day.

"Let's start at the river." Switzerland muttered, heading southward. Austria crinkled his nose as he avoided a puddle of mud, trudging after the stern blond.

It took at least twenty minutes for them to reach the bent section of river they had discovered the day before. Switzerland frowned.

"Perhaps we should head upstream." Austria suggested with relevant calm.

"Fine." Was the grudging answer. SO the two continued northward, Switzerland in front. Or at least, he was a second ago.

A resounding splash and a surprised yell indicated to Austria where his… partner?... had gone.

"You fell in the water." The brunette looked incredulous as he stared at a sopping wet and rather irate Switzerland.

Switzerland just rolled his eyes, grudgingly accepting Austria's proffered hand and trudging out of the clean, fresh water.

The two surveyed the surrounding area: the foliage, the lake and river leading from it. Birds chirped in the trees and animal prints marked the muddy shoreline.

"We'll start our territory here." They said in unison, slowly heading northward to continue scouting their new land.

~~::.::~

Back at the camp, the remaining countries looked between one another. No one seemed to want to break the silence.

"Well… Those two went south, so the rest of us should go northeast and west." England said at length.

"Spain and the Italies should go northeast. It was beachier there." Korea said offhandedly, smiling slightly.

"I will go part of the way with you, mon ami." France offered with a pointed look at Spain. None of the three were particularly well off.

After a bit of deliberation, Russia decided to head north and slightly west by himself. Korea and China decided to cut across Austria and Switzerland's territory with Japan and Greece. Germany, Prussia, and Canada, decided to go beyond the Asians, along with England and America, and see what the farther borders of the island held.

~~::.::~~

Spain and France walked beside each other, chattering enthusiastically. Veneziano walked on France's other side, sometimes paying attention and adding his input, at other times simply wandering and gazing around with a slightly awed expression. Romano lagged behind them slightly, over to Spain's left, occasionally looking up to glare at the Frenchman, occasionally shifting the look to the Spaniard instead. He carried the chicken in his arms, still petting her feathers gently, earning a contented clucking from the happy bird.

"Ah~, France, once we get back home and everything's sorted, we all gotta get together like we used to, si?" Spain laughed lightly.

"Oui, indeed, mon ami. Ever seence this w'ole mess started, we never really got ze chance to go out for drinks! Poor Prussia, being stuck wiz Allemange ze w'ole time." France agreed, shaking his head. Romano decided to take this chance to send him a dirty glare again.

"Apparently Germany isn't too bad when he's at home... or maybe it was that he was just as bad..." Spain trailed off thoughtfully.

"I zink 'e said zat dear Allemange needed quite a few beers to lighten up... mmm, I reckon we invite Germany next time we go out!"

"Si!" Spain laughed again, and Romano glared at him instead.

"Fratello Spagna~ how far till we get there?" Veneziano whined. "I'm tired."

"Already, Feli?" Spain cooed worriedly. "Come walk with me, I'll help you."

"Hey, I'm tired too, bastard." Romano muttered. Spain smiled at him over his shoulder.

"Then you come too Lovi~!" he called cheerfully.

"It shouldn't be too long, petit Italie." France told Veneziano. When Romano walked up to reluctantly (of course it was reluctant. Don't imply that he was lying about that!) accept Spain's help, the Frenchman eyed the oldest Italian and his chicken.

"Eef you'd leave ze bird be'ind, you wouldn't waste ze energy." He pointed out. Romano glared at him again and hugged the chicken closer to his chest.

"I'm not leaving Bella behind."

"...W'at? Deed you just call eet Bella?"

"Her name is Bella. Bella Pollo."

"Aww Roma!"

"Shut it Feli!"

"Zat ees... uh, I am just not going to say anyzing, okay?"

"Zitto! Wine bastard..." Romano glared at France and sidestepped away from him, pulling Spain along by the arm. Spain, being the oblivious person he was, simply smiled at the Italian.

"Cute name, Roma!" he said, craning down to Bella's level. "Hey there, Bella."

Bella pecked at him again, but Spain simply laughed.

"Just like you Roma. Feisty y absolutamente adorable!" he told the Italian with another loud laugh. Romano gave him a glare roughly half as deadly as the one he'd sent France and his cheeks tinged pink.

"Goddammit shut the fuck up! We're tired! I hope you bastards aren't thinking of making us walk too much more, dammit, Feli needs a rest! And so do I! Do you even know where we're going? Dio dannazione, si ritarda..." Romano broke off with a few harsh coughs and an angry scowl. Veneziano whimpered quietly from Spain's right. Spain looked over the Italians worriedly, then looked to France for guidance. The Frenchman sighed.

"Eef zese two need a rest, zen let zem. Tonio, I suggest we press on just for a minute more, until we maybe find a clearing. Zen we can all rest." He suggested.

"Come on then, mi querido Italias."

Veneziano made a whining noise, but dragged himself along beside the Spaniard. Romano huffed and allowed himself to be pulled along, muttering to his chicken. France cast a glance at them, frowning slightly. Both of the Italy brothers were in quite an ill state, and it didn't help that stubborn Romano was the worst off. At least Veneziano would let others help him. Romano, on the other hand, would continue to refuse any aid until he was too ill to fight back. France also worried for Spain, as he wasn't exactly in the best condition either, and looking after two sick nations, and the Italies at that, could take its toll on him. Still, at least Spain was happy. He really loved the two countries.

The older nation shook his head, and turned to continue onwards.

~~::.::~~

Both China and Japan, and even Korea at times, had to support Greece. This wasn't even because the brunette was sleepy, no; the nation was just that weak.

"Greece-san, would you be okay with a break?" Japan asked after a long and tense silence.

"Yes…" Greece murmured, allowing China and Japan to rest him against a tree. Weakly, Greece tipped his head back to rest against the tree trunk, breathing slowly in an effort to relax his aching muscles.

China put a hand on Japan's shoulder and nudged him to the side, telling Korea to keep an eye on Greece.

"Japan… Are you sure you and Greece will be okay? I mean, his near nonexistent economy and after the… earthquake, you're both weak." China questioned worriedly. Despite the other's feelings, Japan was still his little brother and he worried for him.

"Hai, I am confident we'rr be okay. Greece-san is better rater in the day and… pain is something I can handre." Japan answered after careful deliberation and several moments silence.

"Aniki! Aniki! Can we stay here? There's a good place to build shelter and animal pens and I found a creek, da ze!" Korea called to his 'big brother', excitement showing plainly on his face.

"Ah, yes, if you think this is a good place, aru." China responded in a slight daze. Korea tended to do that to him. "Just stay close, Japan." He added after a moment.

"Hai." Japan nodded and walked back to Greece, offering a hand to help the dozing nation up. 

"Thanks." Greece murmured, leaning on Japan as the two walked off.

They headed south, a comfortable silence between them. The pair didn't need to speak very much, they understood one another, and both wanted somewhere with a coastline.

"… Japan, I hear waves." Greece said, breaking the silence that hung like a veil.

"Ah, I do as well. Let us continue towards it." The coast was beautiful. Trees up to the water, which extended out rather far in clear, shallow water. Japan noted a clearing with view of the ocean and a creek that trickled to go out to sea.

"… Farther up… the creek should be clean… and free of salt." Greece stated in his usual mumble, silently pleased with the spot.

Japan hummed in acknowledgement, inching away from Greece. "I will start on our sleeping arrangements." He stated, leaving to go find some long, sturdy sticks and some strong plant or other to use like rope.

Greece went about slowly wandering to the water, watching the fish swim through the shallow and clear water. Then movement on the shore. Curious, the Greek turned his head. A very pale tabby cat was crouched on the shore. And then the cat leaped into the water, catching a fish in it's mouth.

"Well done." Greece murmured as the, now soaked, feline climbed back onto dry land and shook out it's coat. The brunette's admiration for the misplaced feline turned to surprise as about five other cats appeared from the forest brush and went leaping into the water, returning with large and plump fish.

Slowly the tall man knelt on the ground, clucking his tongue and beckoning the felines.

A damp smoke-colored cat with a bobtail and ragged ears padded to him. Within seconds the six cats, and two kittens, were surrounding the Greek, purring and rubbing against him affectionately.

"I wonder where Japan is." The man stood, only for his sleepy eyes to go wide as his legs gave out. Greece went crashing to the ground, head cracking sharply off the pebbles lining the shore.

"Mrow?" a tortoiseshell kitten seemed to ask, pawing gingerly at the limp body.

"Mrr." A black and white she-cat growled, bolting off into the undergrowth.

Japan was more than surprised when a black and white cat flung itself at him. The slinky she-cat put her paws up on his leg and _keened_.

"You certainly do not belong here, neko. What is the matter?" he softly questioned the yowling female.

Tail lashing, the cat pranced backwards and yowled again, stepping back some more and yowling, repeating the process.

Slowly the small Japanese man followed the anxious cat, dark eyes going wide at Greece laying limply on the ground, surrounded by cats, blood smeared over his forehead.

"Greece-san!"

~~::.::~~

"So, West, how long do you think till we find this awesome new territory of ours?" Prussia asked. Again.

"For God's sake, shut up already!" England snapped. "You're worse than this brat used to be!" the island nation shifted America's arm further over his shoulder, huffing from the effort of supporting the heavy weight alone. Canada went silently over to aid America from the other side.

"Are we there yet?" America muttered weakly, blinking slowly before letting his head loll forwards again.

"Scratch that. Still is." The Brit muttered, rubbing America's back gently. "Not yet, love."

America gave an indecipherable groan, and momentarily tried to bury his head in England's shoulder. Then he lost all energy and simply let himself be pulled along, sluggishly moving his feet, but not quite fast enough to keep up with himself.

"I think maybe we should let America rest a while." Canada said quietly, looking at his brother worriedly.

"Okay Birdie. The awesome me needs a rest too." Prussia agreed. Then he promptly stopped and sat down. Germany shook his head and sat carefully next to his brother. England and Canada rested America against a tree, then Canada went to join the Germans. England stayed next to America, feeling his forehead with the back of his hand and brushing his hair out of his eyes.

Prussia tilted over backwards and eventually let himself fall onto his back, staring up at the canopy of trees. After a few minutes of relaxing back and staring upwards, he started twisting about, looking around in a very odd manner.

"East, vhat exactly are you doing?" Germany sighed. Prussia blinked his red eyes at his younger brother, and then grinned.

"Scouting around." He replied. "Awesomely. Kesesese~!"

Germany sighed deeply and buried his head in his hands. Canada chuckled quietly. England muttered something that sounded like 'idiotic prick' and huffed in annoyance. Prussia sat upwards and scrambled to his feet.

"Hey Birdie, come and check around with me!" he said loudly, pulling the quiet Canadian to his feet and dragging him off. England stared after them.

"How on Earth do you live with him?" he asked incredulously, sighing tiredly. Germany shook his head.

"I have no idea. I guess I'm so used to him being like that...though I do vish he'd be a bit more serious sometimes." The German ran his hand through his combed-back hair. "But then again, how do you put up vith America?"

"I don't anymore." England scowled. "He's not often around for me to put up with."

Germany made a quiet noise in the back of his throat and nodded once, looking over in the direction his brother and poor Canada had disappeared in. The trees in this area weren't too dense, and there was a few small clearings like the one they were currently resting in. He could hear rustling in the forest around them, and due to the fact it wasn't accompanied by Prussia's obnoxious voice, he presumed it was animals, that could possibly become a food source.

The blonde tried to place where they were. They had gone through an area that had a faint feeling of Austria and Switzerland, so they were obviously beyond their territory now. They had met an exhausted China and over-excited Korea after that, the bouncy Korean informing them that they were setting their territory in that area, and that Japan and Greece had left in a southern direction. They'd split with Russia there, and continued onwards. He couldn't sense any nations nearby, other than those he was travelling with, and this place didn't have the feel of occupied territory.

Once Germany had finished his analysis and concluded that from hereon should be unoccupied territory, a loud crashing and shouting heralded the arrival of Canada and Prussia.

"Gilbert, please slow down!" the quiet voice was barely audible as it pleaded with Prussia. "Maple!"

"Kesese~ calm down Matty. Look, we're back now!" Prussia chuckled, finally appearing into view, towing a red-faced Canadian. The albino wasted no time in turning to Germany and loudly proclaiming "We should settle here! There's plenty of animals and a tiny little spring, and it's not too dense!"

"Unlike you." England muttered. Prussia frowned over at him, but the Brit simply pretended like he hadn't said anything and turned back to America, who was rubbing his eyes tiredly like a child and whining about wanting to sleep.

"Vell, I must agree vith you. I vas thinking this place vould be good." Germany nodded curtly.

"Oh, but I think stupid Russia is making camp a bit up north." Prussia added, huffing slightly and crossing his arms.

"Hmm." Germany nodded. Then he turned to England. "I vould suggest you keep going east, north-east direction."

England nodded silently, and looped America's arm over his shoulders again. The younger country protested weakly, whining again. England murmured gently to him.

"Come on, love, we have to keep going. Then you can sleep." He said.

"Carry me?" America mumbled. England laughed softly.

"You are way too old for that. And too damned heavy." He tutted. Canada came over and supported America as well. England gave him a small smile of thanks.

"Well, I guess we'll be on our way. Cheerio." The Brit nodded in Germany's direction and cast a last disapproving look at Prussia.

"Bye Prussia, Germany." Canada said quietly with a shy smile.

"See ya later Birdie." Prussia called, waving until the three countries were out of sight.

"Vell... I guess ve should start on setting the perimeter then." Germany sighed, standing up.

~~::.::~~

Russia was actually in a fairly pleasant mood since splitting from the Germans and English-speakers. He was fairly used to being alone and the island was very pretty~! And if he took the land north of China, he'd still be close to the Asian nation, just like home!

"I wonder if Ukraine knows I'm gone." Russia mused aloud, thoughtful as he kept walking. "At least Belarus isn't here." The tall nation involuntarily shivered at the thought of his little sister.

Russia carefully removed his heavy coat. It was very warm on the island and the heat was making him lightheaded.

"… Perhaps it is not so fun being alone." He murmured, surprised when he reached the coast. It had been so quick… Russia's blank expression quickly turned to a smile. There were fish and birds and he was pretty sure he just saw a rabbit. He'd have to learn to catch the fish but rabbit snares were simple enough.

"This will be fun." Russia hummed, looking around at the sand with a nod. "it will be like building a snow fort." So he set about digging a trench in the sand, making it deep and long enough for him to be comfortable. When the trench was done, the tall nation collected palm fronds, layering them thickly over the trench, leaving an opening to get in, and then packing sand over the palms to effectively hide his shelter.

"Perfect, Da~"

~~::.::~~

England, Canada and America continued on through the thick trees. America was a lot more compos-mentis than earlier, so was finally able to walk more steadily on his own feet, though the other two countries kept his arms over their shoulders to keep him upright.

"Dudes, how long have we been walking? And how the hell did we get here? Man, I'm confused." The American groaned. England sighed.

"I have no idea, but I would guess it's around midday... so a few hours since base I'd say. About half an hour since we left Germany and Prussia." He said, glancing momentarily upwards. "And that's probably because you've been borderline unconscious for God knows how long."

"Oh...my head hurts." America winced.

"We surely can't be far now..." Canada muttered quietly.

"I'm hungry." America once again decided simply declaring it would make someone help him.

"Once we find the shore, we can stop and find something to eat. We'll need to find water too..." England assured him. In a moment of silence, a rare occurrence with a fully-conscious America, Canada caught the faint sound of waves.

"Ah! Finally!" he smiled. The trio continued towards the sound and it got louder and louder, until eventually they reached a very narrow strip of shore. The trees practically came right up to the shore, save for a thin line of light yellow sand separating the green and blue.

"All right! Now we can stop walking." America cheered, pulling his arms back to himself. He landed rather disgracefully on the soft sand after an attempt at sitting himself down. England and Canada shook their heads.

"You haven't even been walking half the time. Bloody heavy git." England scolded lightly, also sitting down – but in a far more dignified manner. Canada hovered for a moment before he too sat beside his brother.

"Dude, I'm still hungry." America reminded England. The Brit groaned.

"Oh of course, how could I forget?" he asked himself sarcastically.

"Maybe your memory's starting to go, old man." America laughed, poking the older country. England immediately scowled and flushed.

"Oi! I'm not that old, you bloody wanker!" he snapped, standing up. "I'm going to look for food and water."

And so the island nation stormed off, muttering under his breath about Americans and their inability to grasp the concept of sarcasm.

"Jeez, he gets riled up so easily huh?" America chuckled, looking over at his brother. The Canadian simply shook his head despairingly at America.

"I think it's just you, eh?"

"Your Canadian is showing."

"Hey!"

=X=

_A/N: FINALLY DONE!_

_Jem: Gosh that was long... Sorry for it taking so long! Since I was in Italy at the beginning of this, my part had to be written in a notebook, and then typed up when I got my computer, then it was a bit slow written for a while. BUT WE DID IT! And damn, it's a long chapter..._

_And oh~, Bella has been introduced! Bella has now become a part of headcanon for us! It's quite funny, Romano having a little pet chicken. But it's cute, so it's okay~! Look on my deviantart, you'll find a drawing I did of the two of them together with background info~!_

_Speaking of devianart, here is a link to a map we made for the island, showing how all the territories are laid out (we're that organised): http:/ lingxranfan (DOT) deviantart (DOT) com /#/d479535.  
>Take out all spaces and replace (DOT) with a '.'. Okay then.<em>

_THANK YOU to the MOST WONDERFUL:_

_**Trouble Cookie, Timpeni, **__and __**Snow that Falls on Forest**__ for reviewing last chapter~!_

_And please do review! We love them and they inspire us and make us look insane to everyone present whenever we get them! Oh, and I do LOVE a good review to wake me up in the morning. When the first thing I see after checking the time is someone saying something nice about a story I'm writing, it simply does wonders for my mood! So make my mornings and days happy! Okay, ciao from me~!_

_**Mouse: And review, for I have volunteer work and coming home to reviews would make such a happy little American~**_


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